Morning by Morning—Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

"Is There Not a Cause!" - January 19, 2020

Morning by Morning, January 19 - "Is There Not a Cause!"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my heart with Yours, my mind with Yours, my words with Yours, as You make me more like You today (Romans 8:29). For as You are, so am I to be in this world (1 John 4:17). ...

What stirs in my spirit as I come into the communion of prayer with You this morning -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- is the stirring of this question. But's it's not really stirring as a question. It's more like a battle cry, like a fire in my belly and flames in my spirit:

"Is there not a cause?" ... "Is there not a cause!" ...

"Is there not a cause worth fighting for! Worth dying for! Worth living for! Worth laying down my life for, worth taking my stand for, worthy pressing in and praying through for, without ever backing off or giving up for!" ...

What comes to mind, with the eyes of my heart, is David standing before the armies of Israel in the face of the battle against Goliath. David was full of faith and full of passion for the Lord and the honor of Your name. But his elder brother tried to shut down his faith, question his heart, and silence his voice, accusing him that he had only come to watch and not fight in this great battle in the history of his nation (1 Samuel 17:1-28).

But David would have none of it. David would not yield. In his heart was no surrender, no retreat before those who had defied "the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel" (v. 45). And he couldn't understand the heart and mind of those who would. So he spoke those very words in reply to the accusation and challenge of his elder brother:

"Is there not a cause?" (v. 29 NJKV)

And I believe Your Spirit is speaking that question in the hearts of Your people who are called by Your name at such a time as this in the history of our nation: "Is there not a cause?"

Is there not a cause for standing up and speaking out for the rights of the unborn? For the freedom of speech? For the freedom of expression of religious liberty and faith-filled conviction? For the authority of Scripture? For the right to give voice to the values we hold according the convictions of our conscience as we are led by Your Sprit? For the sanctity of marriage and identity of gender as defined and determined by God? For the advancement of the Kingdom of God in the love and power of God for the sake of Christ from the shores of this land to the ends of the earth? For the fulfillment of our God-given identity, destiny and redemptive purposes of our Creator and Redeemer in our hearts and in our land?

Is there not a cause? ... Is there not a cause! ...

Yes, there is a cause! And Christ is my cause!

"The cause of Christ" is worth all that I have and all that I am (Philippians 1:13). "The cause of Christ" is worth all I may face and all I may endure to stand firm to the end in all He has put in my heart to pray and proclaim, to live out and express, to insist upon no matter what I come against or what comes against me (Philemon 1:23). "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes!" (Romans 1:16)

So come, Holy Spirit. Fill me with "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). Give me "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Put the desires of Christ in my heart, the mind of Christ in my mind, the words of Christ in my mouth, and the cause of Christ in my spirit. "For as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17)

"Is there not a cause?" ... Yes, there is a Cause! And Christ is my Cause worth fighting for! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be empowered by the Holy Spirit to stand firm for the sake of Christ for the cause He has put in your heart, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Standing firm with you in faith,

in our hearts and in our land.

2021 Hope and Healing Conference and Ministry at Moore Than Enough Ministries Worship Center in Ohio This Past Weekend.

Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers for us during our ministry trip to Ohio this weekend at Grafton United Methodist Church outside St. Paris and with our good friends Pastors David and Linda Moore at More Than Enough Ministries' Worship Center in Sidney! Such hunger for God and passion for Jesus! We saw and heard many testimonies already of healing and deliverance, physical miracles and emotional breakthrough, all with a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and the fanning of the flames of a holy Fire that will not be quenched! Much powerful prayer and intercession for our nation and for this movement! We're praising God for all He has done and all He is doing! Praying the same for you! Rocio and I are so grateful for your prayers for us!

graftonchurchstparis.org

Facebook/MoreThanEnoughMinistries

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Messiah-Ministries.org

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Monday, January 18, 2021

From Intimidation and Timidity to Intimacy and Authority! - January 18, 2021

Morning by Morning, January 18 - From Intimidation and Timidity to Intimacy and Authority!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...

"'And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.' When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness!" (Acts 4:29-31).

The rulers of their age tried to silence the voice of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. They called the followers of Jesus before their councils and demanded that they submit to their control (v. 5). The rulers challenged their authority and their right to speak and to pray in the name of Jesus (v. 7). They tried to silence their voice, shackle their freedom, and shut down their movement -- even forbidding them to speak in the name of Jesus (v. 17).

But the disciples of Jesus, the followers of Christ, would have none of it. In the face of all the intimidation and threats of the rulers and authorities -- who were actually the ones who were deeply afraid to the power of this mighty name of Jesus and the move of the mighty Spirit of God -- they would not relent in their passion for this movement the Lord Himself had seared into their hearts, as they responded in faith and stood their ground with courage of conviction, declaring for all to hear, no matter the cost:

"Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard" (v. 19). "Filled with the Holy Spirit," they would not back down (v. 8). No surrender. No retreat. This mighty movement that was stirring in their hearts and stirring in the land was not coming to end, but just beginning! The stronger the opposition, the greater the intensity of their determination.

Intimidation was only fueling the flames of deeper intimacy with their God and greater authority in His name in a great outpouring of His Spirit:

"They raised their voice to God with one accord and said: 'Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

'Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?

The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.'

For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus!'

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness!" (v. 34-31)

Hallelujah! Lord, let it be so in our and our day! Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Turn intimidation into intimacy and timidity into authority in a great move of Your Spirit in our hearts, in our land, in our day! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend may you be filled afresh with Holy Spirit of God, letting Him turn intimidation into intimacy and timidity in into authority in your life and in your prayers for all the Lord has entrusted to you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Standing firm with you in faith,

in our hearts and in our land.

2021 Hope and Healing Conference and Ministry at Moore Than Enough Ministries Worship Center in Ohio This Past Weekend.

graftonchurchstparis.org

Facebook/MoreThanEnoughMinistries

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free to receive them at:

Messiah-Ministries.org

Friday, January 15, 2021

Standing Firm with Both Our Tools and Our Weapons - January 15, 2021

Morning by Morning, January 15 - Standing Firm with Both Our Tools and Our Weapons

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as I seek Your face and listen for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

Like many in our nation, I've been wrestling lately with the focus of my attention. Daily, we're in a spiritual battle for the soul of our nation. And daily, we're sent forth to fulfill our calling in the spheres of influence You've entrusted to us. So do we fight the battle or do we do our job? Do we spend so much time in prayer to engage in a realm we do not see with our natural eyes or do we make ourselves productive in the everyday realm to address the everyday needs we see set before us? ...

This morning, this Word came to my spirit to guide my heart and my thoughts, from the effort and the battle to restore the nation and rebuild the wall in the days of Israel and Nehemiah:

"Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish-and burned ones at that?' Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, 'That stone wall they are building-any fox going up on it would break it down!' Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.

So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

But Judah said, 'The strength of the burden bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.' And our enemies said, 'They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.' When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, 'From all the places where they live they will come up against us.' So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!'

When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor; and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah, who were building the wall. The burden bearers carried their loads in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and with the other held a weapon. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, 'The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us!'" (Nehemiah 4:1-20)

Yes, Lord! "Our God will fight for us!" You are the God who is building the wall and restoring our nation. And You are the God who is fighting for us.

In Your wisdom and sovereignty, You choose to build and to fight through Your people who are called by Your name. So with the weapons of our warfare, let us pray in this spiritual battle of the unseen realm. And with the tools You've place in our hands to fulfill our calling to build up and retore what You've put in our hearts in the place You've positioned us on the "wall" of our community and our nation, for our families and for Your people, let us build. It's not either "fight" or "build;" it's both "fight" and "build" with both our tools and our weapons -- all by the power of Your grace and the Presence of Your Spirit at work within each one of us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be empowered by God's grace and God's Spirit to stand firm, to build and to fight, at your place on the "wall" as He rebuilds and restores in your life and your land, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Standing firm with you in faith,

in our hearts and in our land.

21 Hope and Healing Conference in Ohio This Weekend.

Friends, please keep us in prayer for a move of the Holy Spirit as Rocio and I minister in Ohio this weekend!

We'll be at Grafton UMC in St. Paris, Ohio Friday Night through Sunday morning.

graftonchurchstparis.org

We'll be at More Than Enough Ministries' Worship Center near Sidney Sunday Night.

Facebook/MoreThanEnoughMinistries

God bless you and thank you, as we pray for a move of His Holy Spirit in you and your community!

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free to receive them at:

Messiah-Ministries.org

Thursday, January 14, 2021

When Others Withdrew, "He Stood His Ground" - January 14, 2021

Morning by Morning, January 14 - When Others Withdrew, "He Stood His Ground"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...

"(Eleazar) was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew, but he stood his ground. He stuck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The Lord brought about great victory that day" (2 Samuel 23:9-10).

Like it or not, believe it or not, accept it or not, we are in a spiritual battle -- perhaps even the most significant spiritual battle of our times, so far. It's not a battle against human beings, but against spiritual beings seeking to manipulate and control, to intimidate and deceive, to silence and enslave us all as human beings. They seeking to shame us, condemn us, and forbid us from knowing our identity and securing our destiny as beloved children of God, living into the fullness of Your promises and our heritage of the kingdom of God (Ephesians 6:12). Like the one who sends them against us, they "come only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10).

Like the Philistines in the days of David, they come to plunder our inheritance and destroy our land. They come to keep us from being a light to the nations to extend the good news of the kingdom of God to the ends of the earth from the shores of this land from Your place in our hearts.

David would have none of it. And those who fought alongside him by the power and the grace of God would have not of it. Together, they "stood (their) ground." Even when others "withdrew," they "stood (their) ground." They "defied the Philistines" who had defied the name of the Most High God and sought to defile His people, His army, and the land He entrusted to them for His purposes and their destiny.

Just as Eleazar -- full of courage of conviction, steadfast in resolve, unflinching in faithfulness -- kept fighting to the end, so must we in this spiritual battle of our day. Yes, "his arm grew weary." No doubt there were times in the battle when his spirit and his faith grew weary as well -- especially in the face of being outnumbered by his enemies and abandoned by so many of his friends and fellow warriors. "But he stood his ground." No surrender. No retreat.

And just as Eleazar kept fighting until "his hand clung to the sword," so must we. Our "sword" is "the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). And we must believe It and wield It, in spirit and truth, in the power of the One who is our Spirit and our Truth, until It becomes as much a part of us as Eleazar's sword became a part of his hand -- as one with the Spirit, as one with the Word, as one with the identity and destiny for ourselves and for our land that our Lord has put in our hearts to defend until the end.

Come, Holy Spirit. Grounded in the Word of God, filled with the Spirit of God, may we be full of courage of conviction, steadfast in resolve, unflinching in faithfulness, fighting to the end. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be filled with the Spirit of God, grounded in the Word of God, to stand your ground for all the Lord has put in your heart until the end, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I continue to join with you in prayer for our nation through these challenging times. God bless you, my friend!

Standing firm with you in faith,

in our hearts and in our land.

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free to receive them at:

Messiah-Ministries.org

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

"Courage of Conviction" - January 13, 2021

Morning by Morning, January 13 - "Courage of Conviction"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and listen for Your leading, as I begin my day centered in You -- grounded in Your Word and following Your Spirit. ...

As soon as I settle into my place of prayer this morning, I hear in my heart: "Courage of conviction." ...

Yes, Lord. Give me "courage of conviction." Show me what this means for me today. ...

As I wait, I sense this prayer rising up in my heart:

Let it be the "courage" You supply and the "conviction" You supply. Not a courage I try to muster up, but a courage You form in my spirit to stand firm in the conviction You've placed in my heart. Not a conviction to what I may think is right in my own eyes or anybody else's eyes, but the conviction of what You say is right and lived out in the way You say is right.

By the power of Your grace, let me be courageous in my convictions, bold in my faith, and fearless in the spiritual battles that are set before me. Let me be part of this generation of the Body and Bride of Christ You're raising up and sending forth -- even more bold, even more courageous than any of the faithful generations of the past -- that we may fully accomplish all that's set before us now.

I believe Your Spirit is now bringing to mind Your Word about this kind of "courage of conviction" and the Source of our courage and the Source of our conviction:

"When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them: 'I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the Lord has told me, 'You shall not cross over this Jordan.' The Lord your God Himself will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua also will cross over before you, as the Lord promised. The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. The Lord will give them over to you and you shall deal with them in full accord with the command that I have given to you. Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you.'

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: 'Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed'" (Deuteronomy 31:1-6).

As we go forward at Your command, as You put us in possession of all You've set forth for Your people in this season, our battle is not against people, not against property, not against political parties or propaganda machines. At it's source, it's against the spiritual forces of this present darkness. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

All the battles in the physical realm in the Old Covenant back then speak to us of the spiritual principles of our spiritual battles in the spiritual realm we're fighting now under the New Covenant. "Now these things happened to them as examples, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

In our present battles against this present darkness, we fight in the spirit with the spiritual weapons You've placed in our hands and the "courage of conviction" You've placed in our hearts. "For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have Divine Power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

May we be found faithful in our generation that's been called up for duty at this hour to fight our battles against this present darkness. By the grace of God, may I have the honor and the "courage of conviction" to be one of those, one of Yours, who are found faithful to be obedient to advance and take possession of all You've set before us. No surrender. No retreat. "Strong and very courageous" (Joshua 1:7), with Your "courage of conviction" in my spirit and in the spirit of all You've called to stand firm in our faith. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be stirred in your spirit with the "courage of conviction" the Lord Himself has place there -- His courage and His conviction -- and be faithful to live it out by His grace and in His way, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I continue to join with you in prayer for our nation through these challenging times. God bless you, my friend!

Standing firm with you in faith,

in our hearts and in our land.

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free to receive them at:

Messiah-Ministries.org